Shrink costs the world`s retailers US$98.6 bln

Eight hundred and twenty retail companies, operating 138,603 stores with sales of U.S. $948 billion, provided the data used in this study. The retailers taking part represented 16% of total European retail sales, 13% of North American retail sales and 5% retail sales in Asia-Pacific.
The results from the 32 countries surveyed show that global retail shrinkage (stock loss from crime or waste expressed as a percentage of retail sales) cost retailers U.S. $98.6 billion, representing an annual 'tax' on honest consumers of U.S. $283.61 and U.S. $195.05 per household in the world and Asia-Pacific respectively.
At the same time, the global costs of retail crime (the cost of theft by customers, disloyal employees, and suppliers and vendors, plus the cost of loss prevention) were US $108.1 billion.